Getting the best euro rate

When comparing travel money look for the highest pound to euro exchange rate, this tells you how many euros you get for each pound you exchange.

Today's euro exchange rate is around 1.1. This means that for 1 pound you will get 1.1 euros.

To convert euros into pounds, you would look up the opposite euro to pound exchange rate, which is around 0.9 today. This means that for 1 euro you would get 0.9 euros.

Pounds are often referred to as GBP (Great Britain Pounds) or sterling (short for pounds sterling). These are the official names for our currency, because other countries also use pounds. The official abbreviation for euros is EUR.

The exchange rates on our euro table update every ten minutes, so you can be sure that you are getting the current rates when you compare travel money providers.

How the exchange rate works

In short, the exchange rate tells you how much currency you'll get when you exchange one currency for another.

Exchange rates are important when you have lots of one currency (for example, pounds) and want to buy something in another currency (for example, euros). Travel money is one example of when you might want to convert money. But exchange rates also matter if you're importing goods from another country or buying something online in another currency.

Exchange rates are always in pairs - for example, Pounds/Euros (or GBP/EUR). In this case, an exchange rate tells you how many euros you would get for each pound you want to convert - or vice versa.

Exchange rates vary from day to day, or even hour to hour. They also vary dramatically depending on the company doing the money exchange, and also the situation. The best currency exchange rate can often be found online or away from the highstreet, rather than in the airport departure lounge.

"Tourist rates" are very much a thing, too - you can expect a bad exchange rate if you get your holiday money in a tourist hotspot.

How many euros can you buy?

Most providers let you order up to a maximum amount per transaction, such as £2,500, but some let you order as much as £15,000.

There is usually a minimum amount you have to order when buying euros online, which can be as low as £10.

Some providers charge a delivery fee to send your currency to you. You can often avoid this charge if you buy a higher amount or choose to have your euros delivered to a nearby branch so you can collect them.

If you are travelling to a country in the EU, you do not need to declare how much money you are taking in or out of the country.

If you are worried about what you will do with any leftover euros, you can compare currency buy back rates that you can use to convert your currency back into pounds.

What euro notes and coins can you get?

The euro comes in the following denominations:

Cent coins*: 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50

Euro coins: 1 and 2

Euro notes: 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500

* There are 100 cents in one euro.

When you order online you will only be sent euro notes, not coins.

If you do not want to take cash with you on holiday, you can take a prepaid euro card instead. You can load money onto the card and use it to spend while you are away.

Where can you use the euro?

The euro is the currency used throughout most of Europe, but some countries do not use it and have their own currency.

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